The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) is issuing notice of intent to negotiate a sole source procurement with Northwest Marine Technology, Inc. for ultrasonic tracking equipment. The state-of-the-art tracking equipment is needed to facilitate monitoring of Atlantic salmon parr and smolts for release in Maine Rivers. The North American Industry Classification System code is 112511. The small business size standard is 500 employees. Accurate information on group batch-marked fish is a critical research need. The equipment to be provided by Northwest Marine Technology (NWMT) has been used successfully by NMFS and USFWS researchers to mark large number of Atlantic salmon. The visual implant elastomer tags are patented by (patent number 5,324,940) and only available from Northwest Marine Technology. No other tags or marking product would allow tagging fish of this size with the ability to recover marks without sacrificing or injuring the fish. This equipment is compatible with existing NWMT equipment (detection lights, elastomer, and credit tokens) that are currently owned and used by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. From 2000 to 2008, NOAA Fisheries personnel have marked over 1,850,000 Atlantic salmon smolts using this equipment and it is critical to maintain constant marking techniques during the seventh year of this multi-year study. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 USC 253 (c) (1), Only One Responsible Source. Interested parties may identify their interest and must provide evidence of their capability to provide comparable and compatible equipment by December 20, 2008. No other information will be provided. Telephone requests will not be accepted. Capability statements and supporting documentation may be faxed to (508) 495-2004. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

Bid Protests Not Available